Commercial and consumer absorbent paper products such as toilet tissue and paper towels are typically distributed and dispensed in roll form, and nearly always include a hollow cylindrical core that the product is wrapped about. The core is usually some type of cardboard, which is glued together and to the product so that the core stays intact and the product does not separate from the core. The product is then dispensed by mounting the roll on a spindle, such as can be found on the ubiquitous bathroom toilet roll dispenser, that passes through or otherwise penetrates the inner space of the core. Some dispensers include pegs that penetrate the hollow space within the core for only a limited extent, as demonstrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 390,084 and 2,905,404 to Lane and Simmons, respectively.
Recently, coreless rolls of toilet tissue have appeared on the market, primarily in Europe, that are wound throughout the entire diameter of the roll. There are advantages and disadvantages associated with the coreless rolls. Coreless rolls are ecologically superior to cored rolls because no adhesives or throwaway materials are used to make the product. In addition, more product can be provided in the space that would otherwise have been occupied by the core. Cored rolls are more expensive to manufacture than coreless rolls because of the expense of making the cores and joining the cores to the product. In addition, coreless rolls have the advantage of being less subject-to pilferage in commercial locations because of their inherent incompatibility with conventional dispensers. On the other hand, there are dispensing problems with coreless rolls that so far been difficult to overcome.
Conventional dispensers for coreless rolls typically include an enclosed support surface that the roll is supported on as it turns, and an opening through which the product is passed. While functional, these dispensers have some undesirable characteristics, including an inability to control drag resistance to withdrawal of the product, the fact that the product actually touches the inside of the dispenser, which might be considered unsanitary by some consumers, and an inability to provide 180 degree product access to the consumer. Many of the above described problems would be overcome if a dispenser existed for mounting a coreless roll to rotate about its axis, as cored roll dispensers do. Unfortunately, such a dispenser has yet to be successfully developed.
One of the problems that stands in the way of the development of such a dispenser involves how the coreless roll is to be centered on the dispenser. If the roll is not centered, a rotating imbalance will be created as the roll turns. Also, the roll will be prevented from dispensing product until expiration in the event that its winding axis is not precisely centered on the dispenser. However, since the typical coreless roll has flat, unbroken side surfaces, it is difficult to locate the location of the winding axis.
It is clear that a need exists for an improved system, method and product for permitting the effective dispensing of coreless rolls of absorbent consumer and commercial paper products.